Tech firms keep cutting jobs amid recession talk
Drizly, Snyk, and Workhuman have laid off workers
Layoffs continue to roil the local technology sector, with cybersecurity firm Snyk and liquor delivery service Drizly among those cutting staff recently. The moves come as economists are increasingly anticipating a mild recession in the next year.
On Friday, Snyk chief executive Peter McKay told the Bostonbased company’s workers that weak economic conditions so far this year “are likely to persist into early 2024,” and as a result he was cutting 128 jobs, or more than 10 percent of the company’s staff.
Snyk, which concentrates on helping software developers avoid security vulnerabilities, raised $300 million in 2021 and was considering going public. But the tech market downturn and weaker economy last year forced the company to put those plans on hold and cut expenses. Snyk cut about 230 jobs last year.
In the past two weeks, liquor delivery service Drizly, which is owned by Uber, cut 100 jobs. The layoffs were part of the integration of the two companies, Drizly said in a statement.
“As much as we regret having to say goodbye to so many talented colleagues, these tough decisions must be made in order to secure Drizly’s future and lay the foundation for the long-term success of both brands and our combined businesses,” the company said.
Uber paid $1.1 billion for Drizly in 2021.
Tech companies hired at a furious pace in 2020 and 2021, as the pandemic fueled online commerce and remote work while investors poured money into the sector. But over the past year, digital trends have reversed, the economy has slowed, and investors have been less willing to back tech startups, leading to widespread layoffs.
The layoffs at Snyk and Drizly also come amid a bankruptcy filing by Pear Therapeutics, which developed a video-game-like prescription treatment for substance abuse disorder. As part of the April 7 filing, Pear let go 92 percent of its staff, or 170 people. Bostonbased Pear was founded in 2013 and went public in 2021.
Other local companies cutting workers include human-resources
Liquor delivery service Drizly, which is owned by Uber, has cut 100 jobs. The layoffs were part of the integration of the two companies, Drizly said in a statement.
tech company Workhuman, which slashed 10 percent of its staff. The company declined to say how many jobs were cut.
“We need to realign our investments with new strategic initiatives and opportunities, we need to balance for growth and profitability, and we need to exercise prudence given the volatile macro environment,” Workhuman chief executive Eric Mosley wrote in a blog post last month.